Tag pairdata 30 Sep 2026

RPG + Simulation: a typical launch earns $1,133 in its first year

That is the median of 239 indie paid launches, 2024 Q4 to 2025 Q3. 55 of 509 matured launches earned $100k or more, against 38.3 expected for their price and launch quarter. Releases rose 38% on the year before: 454 against 329.

China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese

Price: $1,133
Price vs a year earlier: −6.7%
Releases, 12 months: 454
Upcoming games: 1,383
Games on the store: 3,792

Boards

as of 30 Sep 2026

Where this pair stands on each board of the front page. Every value carries its 90% interval and its sample.

RPG + Simulation on each board
Board	Value	Interval	Sample	Standing
Most anticipatedShare of all upcoming wishlist heat on Steam, with the number of upcoming games beside it.	1.48%share of upcoming wishlist heat	0.96% to 1.95%	143 ranked of 1,384 upcoming gameswishlist rank 30 Sep 2026	#161 of 7,193pairs on this board
Launch successLaunches earning $100k or more, against the number expected for their price tier and launch quarter. China market: over 35% of reviews are Chinese Listed after unflagged rows on this board	1.40xhits against expected	1.15x to 1.71x	509 launchesindie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old)	#5,898 of 6,324pairs on this board
Fewer new releasesFewer launches relative to players. Historically this did not predict better launches.	−13%player demand against new supply, relative to Steam	−24% to 0%	143 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025; releases 30 Sep 2025 to 30 Sep 2026 vs prior 12 months	#1,808 of 2,361pairs on this board
Rising demandGaining players faster than same-age games. Descriptive, not a launch signal.	−12%review growth against same-age games	−19% to −5%	143 tracked gamesJun 2026 to Aug 2026 vs Jun 2025 to Aug 2025	#1,358 of 2,461pairs on this board

Pairs are noisier than genres: the demand boards at pair level are indicative only.

Launch success

launches 6 to 30 months old

Matured indie paid launches that earned an estimated $100k or more, against the number expected for games at the same price tier and launch quarter.

Hits: 55
Expected: 38.3

Launches: 509
Hit rate: 10.8%8.4% to 16.4%
Expected rate: 7.5%
Against expected: 1.40x1.15x to 1.71x

Launch window: indie paid launches 31 Mar 2024 to 1 Apr 2026 (6 to 30 months old). Hit odds are shrunk toward the Steam-wide rate by 3 expected hits.

Revenue spread

509 launches

Estimated lifetime gross of the same matured launches. Half earned less than the median; one in ten earned more than the top figure.

Bottom tenth: $0
Median: $1,214
Top tenth: $129,896

Estimated from Steam review counts. Lifetime to date, so it differs from the first-year price above.

Supply

raw release counts

Games released with both tags, last 12 months against the 12 before.

Last 12 months: 454
Prior 12 months: 329

Change: +38%
Against Steam: +1%after Steam-wide growth, shrunk by 5 releases

Parent tags

RPGGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.
SimulationGenre pageRanked on every board, with its best pairs.

Comparable games

8 indie titles

The biggest indie games in this pair by estimated lifetime gross. Revenue is shown as a number at 50 or more reviews, as a range at 10 to 49, and not at all below 10.

More with RPG

pairs with RPG

RPG + FMV$25,57938 launches priced, 46 releases in 12 months
RPG + Base Building$17,28632 launches priced, 49 releases in 12 months
RPG + Farming Sim$8,78948 launches priced, 44 releases in 12 months
RPG + Difficult$8,09240 launches priced, 39 releases in 12 months
RPG + Resource Management$8,05030 launches priced, 62 releases in 12 months
RPG + Dating Sim$6,63993 launches priced, 145 releases in 12 months

Every pair with RPG

More with Simulation

pairs with Simulation

Simulation + Shop Keeper$32,26936 launches priced, 330 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Cozy$15,70676 launches priced, 253 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Online Co-Op$11,02868 launches priced, 133 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Multiplayer$8,980122 launches priced, 253 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Base Building$7,38289 launches priced, 173 releases in 12 months
Simulation + Economy$6,979210 launches priced, 540 releases in 12 months

Every pair with Simulation

Verdicts

in development

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